Case Law Note: Protection of Taxpayers’ Personal Data and National Tax Interest: A Misstep by the European Court of Human Rights?

Abstract

The relationship between taxpayers’ privacy, tax law, and tax assessments carried out by national financial administrations is extremely debated. It is because, at the base of every possible consideration, there would seem to be essentially one question: What is the limit to the achievement of the national tax interest? It is possible to imagine, in the era of digitization, that the disclosure of taxpayers’ personal data does not represent a limit to the taxation interest of the state both when this has the purpose of prevention of tax evasion or whether it involves the protection of commercial relations between economic operators? These are some of the questions that emerge from reading the Case of L.B. v. Hungary issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on 12 January 2021. Here, in fact, the court considered the conduct of the Hungarian tax authorities that has materialized in the publication on its website of the personal data of Hungarian tax evaders compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, and specifically with Article 8. VAT, deductions, input tax, expenditure, third parties, discontinued investments, case Mitteldeutsche, case Vos Aannemingen, case Sonaecom.